


Family Challenges

by arewecoolvincent



Category: Last Tango In Halifax
Genre: Anger, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Family Drama, Family Issues, Same-Sex Marriage, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24523000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arewecoolvincent/pseuds/arewecoolvincent
Summary: Caroline and Gillian are married which has caused tensions in the family. Caroline is at breaking point and she wants a relationship with her mother again, but will Celia listen?
Relationships: Gillian Greenwood/Caroline McKenzie-Dawson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know people were liking the new fic but I couldn't carry on writing it. I felt like I could do better so after much thinking, I came up with this. I've been having terrible writer's block which I have pinned down to me going insane thanks to lockdown. Anyway, I hope this is enjoyable :)
> 
> love, F x

“It’s been a year since our wedding and she hasn’t bothered until now. She clearly wants something and it isn’t to do with dad because he would’ve told me if anything was wrong.” Gillian said as she unloaded the shopping from the back of Caroline’s Jaguar. Flora was chasing Queen, the sheep dog around the yard, while Caroline watched Flora. 

“I think she misses Flora. I know she sees her during the week when they pick her and Calamity up from school but I think she misses the times when they used to look after her and have her stay at the house. She cut contact with me but she didn’t need to cut all contact with Flo.” Caroline rambled on as Gillian slammed the boot closed. 

“Flo, inside please.” Caroline shouted at the young girl who was running towards Gillian’s barn with Queen. Flora did as she was told and Queen followed her inside. Gillian locked the Jag, kissed Caroline’s cheek, dropped the keys in Caroline’s bag before heading to the barn. Caroline headed towards the house with a worried expression on her face. While Caroline unpacked the shopping, Flora was in her room playing with her toys and Queen was lounging in front of the fire. Ever since Gillian and Caroline had announced their relationship two years ago now, Celia has always caused trouble in the hopes that they would break up but in fact, Celia’s meddling brought them closer. There was a brief period when Alan had moved into Caroline’s house in Huddersfield as he could not stand Celia’s behaviour. Alan had been rather supportive towards Gillian and he was happy for her. It took some adjusting for the whole family but they knew it was a large adjustment for Gillian. 

Gillian had sold Far Slack Farm as she was sick of living with demons. The sheep settled in well at Caroline’s and Caroline even brought the fields behind the house so the sheep had miles to explore especially in the summer. A barn was constructed for the winter and everything was going brilliantly. Gillian had stopped working at the supermarket and spent her days devoted to the farm where she was always trying new things. Gillian had been running a stall at the monthly farmers market in Halifax and she was becoming well-known (for the right reasons). Caroline was happy that Gillian was finally doing something she loved and Caroline had encouraged Gillian to quit her job at the supermarket. They didn’t change Flora’s routine which included spending an hour after school at Celia and Alan’s before Caroline picked her up. Alan would always answer the door while Celia hid. On the way home, Flora would chat about her day and ask if she could visit the sheep when they arrived back at the house. Caroline always gave in and said yes but Flora would have to change into her wellies as the ground was rather wet due to the persistent rain that winter had brung. 

Caroline closed the cupboard and sighed. She really was fed up with her mother’s antics but she was more worried about Gillian. She headed towards the front room window and hoped that Gillian would be making her way back to the house but she was nowhere to be seen. “Fuck.” Caroline whispered to herself and decided to busy herself with making dinner. Flora appeared when she smelt food and sat at the table, asking questions about sheep, which Caroline answered briefly. “Princess, can you set the table for me?” Caroline asked politely, as Flora watched her shuffle around the kitchen. Flora nodded before slipping from her chair. The front door clicked shut and Caroline sighed with relief. She could hear Gillian muttering about the weather as she started to plate the food. Gillian rushed into the kitchen, her wet clothes dripping on the stone floor as she headed straight for the sink. She scrubbed her hands clean while Caroline settled Flora at the table with her food. Usually, Caroline would make Gillian get changed before dinner if she’d been with the sheep but she didn’t want to cause an argument so she let it slide but she was definitely going to have a word with Gillian once Flora had gone to bed. Once again, Flora was the one who started the conversation as they sat and ate dinner. After dinner, Gillian spent the evening with Flora in Flora’s bedroom after she had showered and changed into her pjs, clearly avoiding Caroline which unsettled Caroline even more. Usually when Gillian acted like this, Eddie had been in her head again and she was trying to protect Caroline from it. 

Caroline managed to get some work done while Gillian was upstairs until it was Flora’s bath time. Flora always wanted Caroline for bath time and Gillian didn’t mind as after all, Caroline is her mother. When Flora had realised that her mum and Gillian were dating, she was unsure of what to call Gillian so she gave Gillian a nickname which was Sunshine. 

With Flora now sleeping, Caroline packed away her work and waited for Gillian to join her in the living room in front of the fire. Queen was settled in the armchair, eyeing Caroline who was pacing the room. Gillian appeared in the doorway and Caroline saw that Gillian’s eyes were red from crying. “I’m sorry.” Gillian said quietly as she walked over to Caroline who wrapped her in a hug. Caroline rubbed soothing patterns into Gillian’s back as Gillian cried. After a few minutes, the tears stopped and Gillian looked at Caroline who guided them to the sofa. 

“What’s upset you?” Caroline asked as she took Gillian’s hand in hers. 

“I couldn’t get what Celia said about me out of my head. It was like she were teaming up with Eddie..” Gillian's voice got quieter as she mentioned Eddie. 

“Did you try the techniques the therapist taught you?” Caroline approached the subject gently as she didn’t want Gillian to close up. Before they got together, Gillian had been to see a therapist to help combat the nightmares and the flashbacks. It had helped massively until Celia started and Gillian had spiralled again but this time Caroline helped her through it. 

“I did the, uh, breathing thingy and the positive thinking… which did help.” Gillian stuttered, embarrassed even though she had nothing to be embarrassed about. 

“Good. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You have nothing to apologise for either. I am not angry, but I wish you’d come to me instead of avoiding me. I know you were protecting me but I will listen and help you. I love you.” Caroline pressed a kiss to Gillian’s temple. 

“I love you too but I don’t see why you bother with me sometimes.” Gillian’s voice cracked as she spoke but she willed away the tears. 

“I bother with you because you make me very happy and I love you. You’ve helped me through so much and made me feel human again after all the grief consumed me. We’ve saved each other. Now tomorrow, I am going to speak to my mother. But for now, we shall focus on us and get some sleep.” Caroline rose from the sofa and gestured for Gillian to do the same. They went to bed but Caroline couldn’t sleep as she was thinking of many ways her conversation with Celia could go and none of them looked good.

  
  
  
  


_ To be continued... _


	2. can we just talk?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline and Celia try to put aside the past. Gillian makes a worrying confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for leaving this. Life has become busier again as my parents are getting back to work so I have to do jobs they used to do. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this. Feedback is appreciated x

The day went far quicker than Caroline would have liked. Her meetings were successful but they didn’t make the day go any slower. She had just finished a stack of paperwork when her mobile rang. She ignored the call and shut off her computer. She tidied up her desk, grabbed what she needed and headed out of her office. 

She pulled up outside the bungalow and took a deep breath. She knew this conversation with her mother was most likely going to end badly but it needed to be done. She disconnected her phone from the in-car charger and climbed out. She knocked and Alan answered the door. They exchanged a quick greeting before Caroline was nearly knocked over by Flora charging at her and flinging her arms around her. Alan chuckled as he headed back through into the living room. Celia was sat in the conservatory, brooding and seemingly unaware of her daughter’s presence. Caroline and Flora sat chatting for a few minutes before Caroline excused herself to the conservatory. Alan was keeping Flora entertained with a new toy while Caroline tried to talk with her mother.

“You want to talk to me properly after a year of barely any contact.” Caroline said as she closed the door so it was just the two women. 

_ “Yes. I realised I have…” _ Celia fiddled with her mug, avoiding all eye contact with her daughter. 

“You realised what? That you’ve made a huge fucking mistake. Do you know how shit this makes me feel? I feel like I am not good enough for you.” Caroline watched as Celia fidgeted in the chair.

_ “You sound like her.” _ Celia said sharply.

“Oh by her, you mean, my wife.” Caroline replied as she pulled a chair out, making sure it scraped along the nicely varnished floor. Celia cringed at the sound, giving Caroline the reaction she wanted. 

_ “It’s wrong. You and her. You’re related.”  _ Celia finally looked at her daughter who was rather pissed off. 

“For the last time, we are not blood related.” Caroline snapped.

_ “Still, you’re step-sisters.”  _ Celia wanted to press Caroline’s buttons but she was failing. 

“We aren’t here to talk about my relationship. Why did you contact me? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me. You practically abandoned Flora for the first two months before finally agreeing to do pick up with Alan during the week. But guess who had to do the talking, that’s right, Alan did. I feel sorry for him. He is stuck in the middle like always and he wasn’t happy with the way you spoke to **my** _wife_ who just happens to be **his** daughter.” 

_ “I regret everything I did and said. I’m…”  _ She couldn’t bring herself to say sorry. 

“You can’t even bring yourself to apologise.” Caroline spat as she watched her mother fidget like one of her students would when she would lecture them about their bad behaviour. 

_ “I contacted you because I want to see Flora more. I want a proper relationship with her.” _

“Why should I let you after the horrible things you have said to me and my wife? I should be cutting all ties with you. But why now? You didn’t come to the wedding. You didn’t bother visiting Gillian and Flora at the hospital after the car accident when your granddaughter could have been killed. Alan visited and I know he gave you the option but you blatantly refused.” Caroline smacked her hand down on the table and she realised she had picked this habit up from Gillian. 

_ “I wanted to visit but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”  _

“I wanted you there. Flo wanted you there.” 

_ “So, can I see Flora more often?” _

“Yes. but, I’ll need to talk to Gillian and Greg about the arrangements. You also need to apologise to Gillian for the vile things you said to her.” 

_ “I understand that. And I’m sorry.”  _

“Yeah, well, it took you long enough to apologise.” That was Caroline’s last statement before she left the conservatory and ushered Flora to get ready. Alan waved as Caroline drove off and Celia was still sitting in the conservatory. 

Caroline stuck the radio on to avoid any questions from Flora about why she was arguing with Celia. The journey home was short as there was no traffic and she was glad to see Gillian in the yard as she pulled in. Flora ran straight into the house and left Caroline to empty the car. Gillian came up to Caroline and kissed her gently before embracing her. They stood in each other’s arms for a few minutes before Gillian carried Flora’s stuff into the house. 

Flora was now settled in her bedroom with her dolls and Caroline was brooding in her study with her paperwork. Gillian was preparing dinner. Queen was sitting next to Caroline watching her intently, sensing that Caroline was stressed. Caroline huffed and lent down to stroke Queen gently before filling in a grant for departmental budgets. She ended up getting so focused on her work that she didn’t hear Gillian enter her study straight away or notice that Queen had disappeared. 

“Flo’s had dinner. She is asking for you to help with ‘er homework.” Gillian said as she pressed a kiss to the crown of Caroline’s head. “Shit, what time is it?” Caroline lent into Gillian’s touch, her head now rested on Gillian’s breasts. “Ten past seven.” Gillian said as she massaged Caroline’s shoulders. “Oh that’s nice. Tell her I’ll be down in a min. I just need to tidy this mess up.” 

“Once the little princess is settled in her room, we need to discuss what happened with Celia.” Gillian said as she left the study. 

Much like the previous night, Flora was in bed fast asleep and that left Caroline to tell Gillian what had happened. Gillian had opened a bottle of wine and was steadily draining her glass as she waited for Caroline to actually say anything. 

“She wants to be involved in Flora’s life more which I am going to allow but we need to make amendments to Flora’s schedule which means consulting Greg. He is on some stupid tour for three months which starts after Christmas. So those weekends, she can stay at Mum and Alan’s which crosses over the weekends that Calamity is there too.” Caroline sloshed the wine around the glass, not really caring if any landed on her hand. 

“I always said that she should be involved with Flora especially after the accident, but she didn’t listen to us or me dad which broke his heart. She knows she’s done wrong, however, I would still be wary of her intentions.” Gillian watched as Caroline drained her glass quickly. 

“I know. I was rather angry when I spoke to her and I think it gave her a right kick up the arse. She couldn’t even say your name, she just kept calling you ‘her’.” Caroline turned to face Gillian once she had placed her wine glass on the coffee table. The colour had drained from Gillian’s face and this unsettled Caroline.

“Sounds ‘bout right though. At least we’ve got somewhere, even if it has taken over a year to bloody get there. I- there’s something I need to tell you.” Gillian shifted and she saw the worry in Caroline’s eyes.

“What is it?” Caroline took Gillian’s shaking hand gently into her own. 

“You remember that my leg was pinned in the accident and I had to see a physiotherapist and she said that everything was fine. Well.. fuck, I’ve been getting bad pains in my knee and earlier, uh, before you got here, I couldn’t walk on it. I had to sit on the f-bloody cold floor in barn. Please don’t be mad at me.” The fear in her eyes was evident and Caroline squeezed her hand gently to reassure her that she was not mad.

“I am not mad. I wished you’d told me. We should talk to the physio again. We can do this.” Caroline said quietly as she pressed a kiss to Gillian’s hand. 


	3. Paris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline and Gillian take a well deserved break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading :))
> 
> this is rather short but I wanted it to be this way. X

Months had passed and life was getting better. Gillian’s trade was increasing and Caroline’s school was thriving. Flora was spending more time with Alan and Celia. Greg was touring the world after a large breakthrough. John had moved into a flat with Lawrence who had finally found a decent job. William was still working at a publisher in London. Raff and Ellie were settled into their new home with Calamity and the baby. 

Caroline and Gillian were on holiday in Paris. Caroline had picked the location and Gillian fell instantly in love. They were in desperate need of a break and Caroline had booked this last minute but that didn’t bother them. Gillian had always dreamed of going to Paris and Caroline had made that dream come true. 

Flora was living her best life as Alan and Celia were spoiling her rotten like always. 

“Everything is finally sorting itself out.” Gillian said as she turned to face Caroline who was currently submerged in the large bath. Gillian dropped the towel down on the side and perched herself on the edge of the tub. 

“Oh yes. We finally have a weekend to ourselves away from the house. You’re very overdressed, my love.” Caroline says as she tugs on Gillian’s arm which causes her to nearly fall into the tub and the water to slosh dangerously near the edge. 

“Caz!! I’ll get undressed then.” Gillian squeaks as she manages to straighten herself up so she doesn’t fall in the tub. She stands and quickly strips off her clothes, throwing them onto the neatly folded pile of Caroline’s clothes. 

They spent a while in the tub even when the water had started to turn cold, they found it relaxing. They definitely would come back to Paris every year if they got the chance. There was so much for them to explore but instead they were too wrapped up in exploring each other to care.

“Gillian, did you bring that dress?” Caroline said as she brushed her hair. 

“This one?” Gillian says as she steps into the bathroom doorway wearing a strapless straight black dress which reached mid-thigh and was paired with black heels with a tiny strap at each ankle. 

“Holy shit.” Caroline said as she dropped the hairbrush on the floor and let her eyes gaze over her wife’s body. Caroline stepped forward so she could whisper into her wife’s ear, “If we didn’t have a reservation, that dress would be on the floor and you’d be pinned down on that bed, moaning my name.” Gillian felt the wetness pool between her thighs. 

“I hope we can continue this later.” Gillian said as she pulled back slightly from Caroline who was now adjusting her fringe in the mirror. Gillian came up behind her and zipped Caroline’s dress up tantalizingly slow. 

“Should we just skip dinner?” Caroline’s eyes meet Gillian’s in the mirror. Pupils dilated and dark with desire. 

“Maybe we should.” Gillian whispers before pressing a kiss to the back of Caroline’s neck just above the top of her dress. 


End file.
